DANCE

W. Earle Smith's Cinderella is an ambitious undertaking for the Madison Ballet, and the appreciative audience at Saturday's Overture Hall matinee included many young girls who, in sparkly, twirly dresses, took in the lavish production. >More

I came away from Li Chiao-Ping Dance's opening of eVOLUTION, Friday night at Overture Center's Promenade Hall, liking Li's sensibility as a dance maker and appreciating her qualities as a dancer. But my favorite piece of the night wasn't her choreography, and she didn't perform in it. That was the smart and funny "Press," from choreographer Lionel Popkin, which opened the program. >More

When, after almost three hours, I emerged from Overture Center's Promenade Hall, I felt that Kanopy Dance Company could have done with fewer pieces in Planet Dance. But Friday night's opening performance successfully celebrated dance from around the world -- and made me want to sign up for classes in classical Spanish and Indian dance. >More

Jazzworks Dance Company packed a lot of dancing -- and a lot of dancers -- into a two-hour production at the Overture Center's Capitol Theater on Friday night. The first act boasted six pieces, three of them premieres, performed by company members. The second act was one long and bustling piece, "A World Without Walls," featuring the company members and children from The Madison Professional Dance Center. >More

UW-Madison dance program chair Jin-Wen Yu celebrates his 50th birthday with his company's Meta-50, an evening of works presented in Lathrop Hall's Margaret H'Doubler Performance Space. Thursday night's opening performance, which included four premieres from Yu, was crowded. >More

Despite the threat of freezing rain, Dance Wisconsin's performance of Nutcracker Fantasy last Saturday at Wisconsin Union Theater was very well attended. This version of Nut, an annual production, was reassembled from the original by Dance Wisconsin artistic director JoJean Retrum. >More

Although Overture Center does its best to play safe, every now and then the performance palace's programmers go out on a limb and bring in an edgy, must-see show. Step Afrika! is one of those. Steeped in African American history, mashed up with South African roots and slicked with contemporary production values, this rhythm company serves up a supersize shot of soul. >More

I came away thoroughly impressed and inspired by the UW Dance Program's interdisciplinary fall faculty concert Splash, presented Saturday night in Wisconsin Union Theater. The student dancers were well trained and focused, whether performing UW instructors' works or the acclaimed choreography of the guest artist, New York-based Susan Marshall. >More

Autumn Heart, the late fall concert by Kanopy Dance Company at Overture's Promenade Hall last weekend, was predictably inconsistent. Three standouts rescued the eight-piece program from the dustbin of unmemorable Madison dance performances. >More